Wind-wheel.



Nu. 655,270. Patented Aug. 7', |900* T. 0. PERRY.

WIND WHEEL.

(Application led Jan. 3, 1898.)

5 Sheets-Sheet 2,v

(No Model.)

Patented ng. 7, |900.

T. 0. PERRY.

Wl N D W H E E L (Application led Jan 3, 1898 5 Sheets-Sheet 3` (No Model.)

T. PERRY. WIND WHEEL.

(Application led Jan. 3, 1898.) (H0 NOIBL) v 5 Sheets-Sheet 4.

No. 655,270. Patented-Aug- 7,1900..

No. 655,270. Patented Mg.- 7,190.

T. u. PERRY.

WIND WHEEL.

(Application Bled Jan. 3, 1898.)

(llo Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 5.

@fge @ses edi@ a vbomc perrg.

. by al V4rrnn STATES' PATENT Ferca.

THOMAS O. PERRY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

WIND-WHEEL.

SPECIFICATION forming' part of Letters Patent No. 655,270, dated vAugust 7, 1900.

Application led January 3, 1898. Serial No. 665,342. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, THoMAs O. PERRY, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful AImprovements in Wind-lVheels, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in wind-wheels, and has for a principal object to provide a novel construction which will achieve a marked increase in the mechanical efficiency of devices of this character.

Other objects of the invention are to increase the simplicity and decrease thc cost of manufacture by requiring fewer parts of simpler construction and less weight for necessary-strength than in any form of wind-wheel heretofore known.

The invention consists in the matters hereinafter set forth, and particularlypointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figurel is a perspective view of a wind-wheel embodying my invention in one form. front elevation thereof. Fig. 3 is an axial section of the hub and bearing. Fig. iis an enlarged detail of the bearing. Fig. 5 is a sectional side elevation of the wheel. Figs. 6 and 7 are similar views showing methods of bracing the wheel. Fig. 8 is a perspective detail of a segment of one of the annular supporting-bands. Figs. 9, lO, 1l, and 12 are diagrammatic views showing the'curvature and relative relation of each two adjacent sails at the perimeter, the outer band, the inner band, and the hub, respectively. Fig. 13 is a diagrammatic view showing the manner in which the air-currents act on the sails and are deflected thereby. Figs. 14, 15, 16, and 17 are diagrams showing the theoretical power and ediciency ofthe sail at diierent distances from the center of the wheel.

As shown in said drawings, A designates the wind-wheel as a whole, A its sails, and A2 its hub, to which said sails are directly secured. Said hub is cylindric in form and is herein shown as detachably secured to a spider or disk B, which is keyed or otherwise fixed upon a supporting-shaft Bf. Desirably and in this instance the hub is made of seamless tubing and is flanged inwardly at its front end by spinning, swaging, or otherwise to fit concentrically over the perimeter of the disk Fig. 2 is a,

or spider, being detachably secured thereto by 4bolts h, so that the wheel may be removed from its shaft without disturbing the key which locks the spider upon the latter.

In the approved construction shown the sails Al are six in number, and their size is made such that they approximately cover two-thirds of the entire circular area of the wheel, the other third of the area remaining in' equal spaces between the sails for the passage of the air-currents. The actual length of the outer margin of each sail is to this end made approximately one-ninth of the outer circumference of the wheel, and in this instance, where the diameter of the hub is onesixth of the diameter of the wheel, the length of the inner margin of each sail is desirably made approximately one-sixth of the circumference of said hub. The converging leading and trailing edges a and a' of all the sails are furthermore herein shown as located in two parallel planes, so that the depth of the wheel from front to rear is the same from its hub to its outer periphery. The inner end of each sail is shaped to closely lit against the surface of the cylindric hub and is rigidly se cured to the hub, as by being flanged over and bolted or riveted thereto, as shown Ca2 in Figs. 1 and 2.

Aside from their connection with the hub of the wheel the sails are supported in position by one or more thin and broad cylindric bands A3 and A4, each arranged concentric with the axis of the wheel and herein shown as consisting of a plurality of cylindric segments made of the exact size and shape to iit accurately between each two adjacent sails. Flanges as are turned up at the margins of the segments where they meet the sails, and the proximate ends of each two segments are then secured to the intervening sail and to each other by rivets'or the like extending through said flanges and sail. y shown, two such cylindric bands A3 and AL are provided and are located approximately at one-third and two-thirds, respectively, rof the radius from the center of the wheel, and this construction will probably suffice4 for wheels up to about twelve feet in diameter, but it will of course be understood that a greater number of such bands may be provided, if service so demands, while in the As herein` IOC) smaller sizes a single such band may suffice. Outside of the outer band the stiffness of the Sails depends upon their curved form and upon the rigidity and length of their juncture with said bands, the latter being herein shown as made of a width just equal to the fulldepth 'of the sails measured in a direction parallel to the axis of the wheel, so that the sails are supported from edge to edge by the segments. This stiffness is increased by the flanges at the ends of the segments and between which the sails are clamped, and the fact that said sails are not weakened by any perforations larger than the rivet-holes is also of great importance in this connection. The curvature and angular arrangement of the sails in this form of construction may obviously be made anything desired, so far as concerns any necessities of the structural situation, whereas in the more modern of the wind-wheels heretofore designed the angle of the sails has been limited in practice by the fashion of passing an annular connecting-band through them, so that they would be largely cut away and dangerously weakened by such band if placed at too fiat an angle with relation thereto. The increased efficiency of the improved Wheel herein shown is largely dependent upon the fact that it is designed to normally run and to work most efficiently at a much higher velocity of rotation than has been heretofore usually practiced, and to this end its sails at their forward edges are made quite flat, being formed upon curves, such and so arranged that their forward edges are parallel to the relative direction of the Wind with respect to the sails when the Wheel is running at normal speed and their rear edges parallel, or nearly so, to the plane of rotation of the wheel. This curvature of the sails is graphically illustrated in Figs. 9 to l2, inclusive, which represent the developed cylindric cross-sections of two adjacent sails, taken, respectively, at their outer ends, at the outer cylindric band, at the inner cylindric band, and at the hub, the corresponding distances from the center being in the particular wheel herein shown, respectively, the full radius, two-thirds the radius, one-third the radius, and one-sixth the radius. The curvature shown at the iirst three distances mentioned is exactly thatv above described-z'. e., the forward end of the curve is parallel to the relative direction of the wind with respect to the sail when in motion and the rear end of the curve is shown parallel to the plane of rotation of the wheel. In Fig. l2 this theoretically-perfect arrangement is departed from in the latter respect, since the close proximity of the sails to each other at the hub renders it desirable to set back their rear edges at this point in order that the air may pass more freely between them.

The sails described are made of very thin material, desirabl y of hard-rolled sheet-steel, which is also suitable for the cyliudric bands, and the thickness of which may be so slight that both the sails and the bands practically present knifeled ges to the wind. Such thick# ness I have found need not exceed about one twelve-hundredth of the radius of the wheel in order thatit shall exceed in strength and in its capacity to resist the violence of storms any of the wind-wheels now in common use. This proportion would call for steel of approximately one sixteenth of an inch in thickness for a wheel twelve feet in diameter or of one thirty-second of an inch for a wheel six feet in diameter. The entire wheel, as shown, omitting the shaft and spider, comprises only nineteen pieces, which when riveted together in the manner described form practically one rigid piece without any of the appendages such as are commonly designated by the terms arms and braces and which must always obst-ruct to a greater or less degree the free flow of air between the sails.

The reasons for the superior efficiency of the construction described and the importance of doing away with every possible resistance to the free flow of air between the sails, however small it may be and Whether caused by the presence oi' arms or braces or otherwise,will be more fully understood from the following discussion of the manner in,

which the wind acts on the sails of a windwheel to drive the latter, considered both from a theoretical standpoint and in the light of some of the dynamometric tests made by me in the course of a long series of experiments with a large number of different wind-wheels.

The office of the sails of the windmill is to absorb the energy of the wind, and they accomplish this by changing the directionof the wind and reducing its actual velocity, so

that if perfect efficiency could be obtained the wind would be entirely robbed of its ve` locity and split from the trailing edges of the sails as absolutely dead air. result is most nearly approximated in prac tice by changing the direction of the Wind so that on leaving the sail its motion is in a direction substantially-opposite to the motion of the sail and by reducing its Velocity as nearly as practicable to the lowest point at which it will flow out of and free itself from the sail. To meet these conditions, the speed of the sail relatively to the wind must be high, and the sail itself toward its outer ex tremity must be relatively flat at its leading Such idealy Y IIO edge, since in order that it may receive the arrangement'of the sails and to the decreased velocity of the parts nearer the center of rotation this angle will not be constant, but will increase from the outer end of the sail Figs. 9 to 12, inclusive, which in this construction and as before stated represent the angular arrangement and curvature of the sails at distances from the center corresponding, respectively, to the full radius, two-thirds the radius, one-third the radius, and one-sixth the radius, and at which distances the sail velocity is designed to be respectively three times, twice, equal to, and one-half the velocity of the wind. The trailing edges of the sails must be approximately parallel to said plane of rotation in order to change the direction of the wind in the manner above stated. This rule would need no modification if it were not for the fact that in a wind-wheel one sail necessarily follows closely after another, so that near the hub it is found advantageous to slant the sail back slightly at its trailing edge, as shown in Fig. 12, in order that the space between the sails may not be too much choked at this point. Between its leading and trailing edges the contour of the sail should be a smooth curve without abrupt changes, so that the air may flow along its surface with as little resistance as possible.

The terms leading edge and trailing edge are used throughout the specification and claims to indicate the extreme marginal faces of the sails, as though the sails were surfaces without thickness.

The flow of air along the back of the sail should be as smooth and uninterrupted as along its front, since the back of the sail plays an important part in directing the course of the air-currents which' tend to cling to and follow it, as any one may determine experimentally by observing the flow of a steamjet along a curved surface held in its path. In fact, it is largely due to this suction between the air-currents and the backs of the sails that the entire body of wind intercepted by the wheel will escape from between the sails in a direction approximately opposite to their direction of rotation. The backs of the sails must, therefore, also curve smoothly from their front to their rear edges, as will be the case when the sails are iliade of thin sheet metal withoutobstructing arms, braces, or other obstacles, as described. The flow of air between such sails is graphically illustrated in Fig. 13, in which the dotted lines W represent the wind-currents and the curved lines A A the cross-section ofl two sails assumed to he moving at normal speed. The direction of the lines W' at their inception and as marked by the arrows represents the relative direction of the wind with respect to the moving sails, assuming that the plane of rotation of the sails is perpendicular to the actual direction of the wind, and the curvature of said lines indicates the deflection incident to their passage between the sails. The effect of introducing material resisting edges or surfaces between the sails in the form of arms or braces or otherwise is to interrupt and disturb this free flow of the aircurrents and to Waste the energy of the wind in overcoming the friction and resistance of the air. As a practical illustration of this fact reference is had to the result of tests made with a wind-wheel having six sails similar in shape to those here shown, but in which each sail was supported by a slender radial rib extending along the center ot' its back. When this wheel was first tested, such supporting-ribs extended to the outer margins ot' the sails. Its speed was found to be slightly over thirty-eight revolutions per minute, and its power, in foot-pounds, of usefulwork was twenty-four per cent. greater than that of a compared standard wheel of the same size having for its sails numerous narrow wooden vslats after a fashion which was then and still is a common practice. The extremities of the six supporting-ribs were then cut away as far as was possible without endangering the support of the sails and to an amount in each equal t'o seventeen-thirtieths of the radius of the wheel. Upon being again tested in the same Velocity of Wind, which could be artificially regulated as desired and under precisely the same conditions as to load, the., the number of rotations per minute rose to between fifty-six and fiftyseven, and its power, in foot-pounds, was now found to be eighty-four per cent. greater than that of the narrow-Slat wheel. I-Iere was a gain in useful work of about forty-eight per cent., due entirely to the removal of the outer ends of said arms and to the consequent avoidance of the resistance which they had previously offered to the proper flow of the air-current. This matter will be made still clearer by considering the theoretical efficiency which might be obtained in a windwheel if all the air intercepted by the wheel could have its direction changed without clogging or friction, so as to escape from the rear edges of the sails in a direction opposite to their motion. In Figs. 14, 15, 16, and 17 the curved lines A represent transverse sailsec'tions at the four'previously-named radial distances and when constructed as requiredfor maximum efficiency in accordance with the theory before stated and on the assumption that the outer extremity of the sail travels at three times the velocity of the wind. In each of said figures the line DG is taken to graphically represent the actual direction and velocity of the wind and the line CD the respect to the sail in motion, as well as its relative velocity at leaving in a direction opposite to the sails motion, and the distance GK, which is the difference in length between lines CDfand CG, will represent the actual velocity which the air retains after passing from the trailing edge of the sail. Now since the energy of any given quantity of wind at different velocities varies as the squares of the velocities, DG2 may represent the total actual energy of Wind before meeting the sail, and GK2 the remaining energy of wind after acting on and leaving the sail, and DG2 GK2 will represent the efficiency of the-sail, or the proportion of the total energy of the wind given up in its passage along the sail, those percentages being in the example given .974, .944, .828, and .618, respectively. The differences in these efficiencies or in the proportion of energy utilized at the dilfereui radial distances from the center are entirely due to the differences in sail velocity at those distances and clearly show how necessary high velocities are to good economy, and since a small resistance causes a great loss of energy at high velocity it is consequently of the greatest importance that the resistance due to the number and thickness of material edges shall be reduced to the lowestpossible limit, asrbefore stated. The same thing may be further demonstrated in a different manner by considering with regard to the four different radial distances vwhat part of the work performed by a sail is due to that factor which :represents the resultant effort or push of the impinging and escaping air-currents on the sail and what to that factor which represents sail velocity, it being obvious that since all vWork is the product of pressure into distance the work of a wind-wheel sail may also be representable by such an equation. According to the principles enunciated in Rankines work onThe Steam Engine, the resultant-useful effort or push of the wind in the direction of the sails motion may be represented by the lengths of the lines GK in diagrammatic views, Figs. 14 to 17, GK being, asbefore, the difference between the lines CD and CG. The sail movement in each case will be the line GD, andthe product or useful work may therefore be represented by the rectangle erected on the line CD Vas a base with an altitude equal to the line GK.

Assuming, forexample, a wind velocity of 9.7505 feet per second, which is the velocity at which the energy per square foot of cross-section of Wind-current will be approximately one foot-pound per second, the base-line ODlwill in thefour figures be 28.55, 19.01, 9.505, and 4.753 feet per second, respectively, and the altitude .034, .0497, .0872, and 1.301 pounds, respectively, making the work done in each case .974, .944, .828, and.618 foot-pounds per second, respectively. With the wind velocities assumed these products will valso repre-li sent efficiencies as well as work and Vwill be found the same as the efficiencies hereinbefore given. The point to be especially noticed in this connection is the relation ofV useful eort to sail speed in each of the four cases, the higher speeds giving the greaterv work, although the resultant Wind-push at these speeds is relatively smaller, and thisshows how great may be the saving of energy at high speed by reducing resistances even by small amounts andhow greatl is the importance of having especially the outer extremities of sails thin and self-supporting for as great a distance as possible without even the interposition of thin bands between them. This also shows Why the leading edge of a sail should be tangent everywhere to-the relative direction of the impinging wind, as otherwise some portion-of the sail could not travel at the best speed for efficiency without back pressure at some other portion.

Theoretically perfect eiiciency could' be obtained only by infinite sail speed, at which the useful effort or push would be immeasurably small. It is evident that the resistance of the air itself against resisting edges would entirely neutralize the useful effort,V at much less than innite velocity, and even with the assumed peripheral speed of three times the velocity of the Wind the push factor of the work is so small as to make every possible saving in frictional resistance amatter of the greatest importance.

VVind-wheels of large size can also be made in the manner hereinbefore described and will be equally as'strong as smaller ones in withstanding the violence of storms, providing that all the lineal dimensions, including the thickness of the vstock employed, are made larger in proportion. This rule, however, makes the larger wheels comparatively very heavy,since their weights will vary as the cubes, and their power only as the squares, of their diameters. A large wheel would therefore weigh twice as much in proportion to its capacity as a wheel one-half its diameter, and it is for this reason that a gain in wind-wheel efficiency is so important, since it means much more than a'mere corresponding increase in the work which a given size of wheel can-perform, for to a proportionate extent it will avoid the necessity of enlarging wheels at a great relative sacrifice in the cost of materials. Thus it would take only half the material to do a given amount of Workwith four wind-wheels that would be required to'do the same workwith one wind-Wheel of twice the diameter, and, if the efficiencyof these wheels ply the strength lost in this manner by a lsys,-

tem of bracing, notwithstanding thev loss of efficiency which may result. Thus in Figs.

IOO Y IIO 6 and 7 I have shown two examples of braced wind-wheel structures, in each of which the perfect form and proportion of sails heretofore shown is retained subject to the added resistance of the braces. In Fig. 6 the inner annular band A3 is omitted, and the sails are additionally secured to the hub by braces A5, part of which are fastened at their inner ends to the front of the hub and at their outer ends to the rear edges of the sails, just within the outer annular band A4, and part from the rear of the hub to the forward edges of the sails. In Fig. 7. an inner and outer annular series of braces A6 andAl, respectively, is shown in connection with both annular bands A3 and A4, the inner set of braces A6 extending from the front of the hub to the rear edge of the inner annular band and the outer set of braces A7 from the front edge of the inner annular band to the rear edge of the outer annular band.

In Figs. 14E to l' the several lines CD are proportional to the radial distances in each case and the lines DG are all of the same length. Hence the tangents of the angles CGD or the cotangents of the angles of inclination with the plane of the wheel made by the leading edge of a sail at different radial distances are proportionate in length to the corresponding radial distances. This rule holds good whatever' angle may be assumed for the leading edge of a sail at some one radial distance. Assuming that at the outer extremity 'of a sail the line CD is three times the length of DG, as shown in Fig. 14, then the angles CGD at six different points radially equidistant, commencing at the outer extremity and taken in the order of their radial distances, will be respectively about seventy-one degrees, sixty-eight degrees, sixtythree degrees, fifty-six degrees, forty-five degrees, and twenty-six degrees, from which it will be seen that the angles CGD decrease at a greater rate than the radial distances diminish and that the angular diminution becomes more and more rapid with regular approaches toward the center of the Wheel. This also makes it apparent that in order to hold the corresponding sail curvature effectively the radial interval between the hubband A2 and the intermediate band A3 should be less than the radial interval between the intermediate band A3 and the outer band A4.

I do not claim that the particular angles herein shown would be the best in all cases, but they serve well the purpose of illustration, nor do I confine myself to the particular number and proportions of sails and other parts herein shown.

The. gearing or other connections between the wind-wheel and the mill or other meehanism to which it is applied orin connection .with which it is used has no bearing on the present invention and is therefore not herein illustrated. It will be understood also that various changes in mechanical detail may be employed in the practical construction of l. In a wind-wheel, the combination with` the shaft and hub fixed thereon, of a plurality of radial transversely-curved'sails, and segments of thin cylindrical bands interposed transversely between the sails at radial intervals, each segment abutting against the front and back of adjoining sails in compound curves, and having their edges in'contact with the sails turned outward at about right angles with the cylindrical band-surface forming exterior band-anges, and rivets or bolts binding the sails between the band-flanges, substantially as herein set forth.

2. In a wind-wheel, the combination with the shaft, and hub fixed thereon, of a plurality of radial transversely-curved sails having theirleading and trailing edges axially separated at both inner and outer ends by practically the samey distance, and segments ot thin cylindrical bands interposed transversely between the sails at radial intervals, each segment abutting against the front and back of adjoining sails in compound curves, and having their edges in contact with the sails turned outward at about right angles with the cylindrical band-surfaces forming exterior bandflanges, and rivets or bolts binding the sails between the band-flanges, substantially as herein set forth.

3. In a wind-wheel, the combination with the shaft and hub fixed thereon, of a plurality of radial transversely-curved sails having their leading and trailing edges axially separated at both their inner and outer ends by practically the same distance, their inclinations to plane of wheel decreasing along their leading edges with increasing radial distances while the inclination of their trailing edges remains practically a small constant angle throughout, and segments of thin cylindrical bands interposed transversely between the sails at radial intervals, each segment abutting against the front and back of adjoining sails in compound curves, and having their edges in contact with the sails turned outward at about right angles with the cylindrical band-surface forming exterior bandianges, and rivets or bolts binding the sails between the band-flanges, substantially as herein set forth. v

4. In a Wind-wheel, the combination with the shaft and spider fixed thereon, of a broad cylindrical hub-band surrounding the spider and secured directly thereto, and a plurality of transversely-curved sails radiating from said hub-band and secured thereto in a junction-line of compound curvature traversing the cylindrical surface from front to rear at great angle with plane of Wheel in front and small angle in the rear, and segments of cylindrical bands interposed transverselybetween the sails at distances intermediate of their length, each of said segments having IOO IZO

' cylindrical segments, substantially as herein set forth.

5. In a wind-wheel, the combination with the shaft and spider fixed thereon, of a broad cylindrical hub-band surrounding the spider and secured directly thereto, and a plurality of radial transversely-curved sails secured to said hub-band at their inner ends and having both their leading and their trailing edges from inner to outer ends approximately located respectively in two parallel planes axially separated and perpendicular to the shaft, and segments of cylindrical bands interposed transversely between the sails at distances intermediate of their length, each of said segments having flanged ends of compound curvature abutting respectively against the front and back of adjoining sails, and rivets or bolts binding each sail between the adjoining fianges of the cylindrical segments, substantially as herein set forth.

f5. In a wind-wheel, the combination with the shaft and spider fixed thereon, of a broad cylindrical hub-band surrounding the spider and secured directly thereto, and a plurality of radial transversely-curved sails, their widths expanding with increase of radial distance, secured to said hub-band at their inner ends and having both their leading and their trailing edges from inner to outer ends Vapproximately located respectively in two parallel planes axially separated and perpendicular to the shaft, and segments of cylindrical bands interposed transversely between the sails at distances intermediate of their length, each of said segments having flanged ends of compound curvature abutting respectively against the front and back of adjoining sails, and rivets or bolts binding each sail between the adjoining flanges of the cyindrical segments, substantiall y as herein set Orth.

7. In a wind-wheel, in combination with the shaft and hub fixed thereon, and supporting concentric bands; the radiating sails curved transversely with respect to their radial length and expanding in width with increasing radial distance, each sail having a trailing edge approximately parallel with the plane of the wheel throughout its radial length, while its leading edge at dierent radial distances makes with a plane containing said leading edge and the axis of the wheel a varying angle diminishing with decrease of radial distance, and whose rate of diminution with radial approach to center of wheel exceeds the rate of said radial approach, substantially as herein set forth.

8. In a wind-wheel, in combination with the shaft and hub fixed thereon, and supporting concentric bands; the radiating sails curved transversely with respect to their radial length and expanding in width with increase of radial distance, each sail having a trailing edge approximately parallel with the plane of the wheel throughout its radial length, while its leading edge at different radial distances makes with the plane of the wheel various angles whose cotangent-s are approximately proportional to the various corresponding radial distances, substantially as herein set forth.

9. In a wind-wheel, in combination with the shaft and hub fixed thereon, andabroad hub-band secured around the hub; the radiating sails curved transversely with respect to their radial length and expanding in width with increasing radial distance and having 'a trailing edge approximately parallel with the plane of the wheel throughout its radial length, while its leading edge, everywhere separated from the trailing edge by a practically-constant axial interval, at different radial distances makes with a plane including the leading edge and the axis of the wheel a varying angle diminishing with decrease of radial distance, and whose rate of diminution with radial approach to center of wheel exceeds the rate of said radial approach, substantially as herein set forth.

11. In a wind-wheel, the combination with thin radial sails transversely curved and securedat their inner ends to a broad central band or hub, of one or more thin and broad cylindrical concentric bands whose juncture with each of the sails forms a compound curve extending transversely across the width of the sail, the bands and sails being secured to each other by dividing into segments and fianging the bands along the sails and clamping the sails between the fianges of the band-segments by means of a plurality ot rivets or bolts, substantially as herein set forth.

IOC

IIO

. 12. In a wind-wheel, the combination with across the sail at a radial distance from the axis of the Wheel intermediate between the ends of the sails, and rivets or bolts piercing the sails and clamping them between the abutting flanges of the segmental bands, substantially as herein set forth.

13. Awind-wheel comprising a hub, transversely-curved sails supported from said hub, one or more broad cylindric su pporting-bands made of a plurality of thin segments with broad sides perpendicular to radial lines each inserted between two adjacent sails, flanges on the margins of said segments along the sails, and rivets or bolts uniting the proximate flanges of each two adjacent segments through the intervening sail, substantially as herein set forth` 14. A wind-wheel, comprisingaspider fixed to a supporting-shaft, a tubular hub removably mounted upon the spider, sheet-metal sails transversely curved secured to said hub, one or more broad cylindric supporting-bands concentric with the hub and composed'of a plurality of thin sheet-metal segments with broad sides perpendicular to radial lines each inserted between two adjacent sails and having fianges at their juncture with the sails, and rivets or bolts securingr the adjacent flanges together through the intervening sail, substantially as herein set forth.

15. A wind-wheel comprising a broad cylindric hub,a plurality of transversely-curved sails supported from said hub at their inner ends, one or more broad cylindric connecting-bands concentric with the hub and consisting of segments, secured each between two adjacent sails, and braces axially inclined secured to the hub and to the fart-her side of each sail, for additionally supporting the latter, substantially as herein set forth.

16. A wind-wheel comprising a broad cylindric hub, sheet-metal sails transversely curved secured to the hub at their inner ends, one or more cylindric supporting-bands concentric with the hub and composed of separate sheet-metal segments inserted between the sails and secured to each other with the sails between them, and braces axially inclined secured to the hub and sails and extending from one end of the hub to the farther side of each sail for additionally supporting the latter, substantially as herein set forth.

17. In a wind-wheel, the combination with the supporting-shaft and a spider permanently fixed thereon, of a broad tubularhubband inclosing the spider and removably bolted thereto, and transversely-curved sails radiating from and secured to thehub at their inner ends, the juncture of said sails with said hub-band forming a compound curve extending diagonally from front to rear of hub-band, substantially as herein set forth.

18. In a wind-wheel, the combination with the radial sails curved transversely with respect to their radial length and expanding in width with increase of radial distance and whose trailing edges make asmall and practically-constant angle with the plane of the wheel throughout their radial length, and whose leading edges at dierent radial distances, make with the plane of the wheel various angles, which increase with uniform approach te center of wheel at a greater rate than the uniform rate of radial progression; of a broad cylindric hub-band securing the inner ends of the sails throughout their width, an outer concentric cylindric band extending axially across and securing the curvature of the sails along their junctions therewith, and an intermediate concentric cylindric band likewise securing the curvature of the sails across their intermediate Widths, the radial interval between the hub-band and the intermediate band being less than the radial interval between the intermediate band and the outer band, substantially as herein set forth.

19. In a wind-wheel, the combination with the radial sails curved transversely with re spect to their radial length and expanding in width with increase of radial distance and whose trailing edges make a small and practically-constant angle with the plane of the wheel throughout their radial length, and whose leading edges at different radial distances, make with the plane of the wheel various angles, which increase with uniform approach to center of wheel at a greater rate than the uniform rate of radial progression; of a succession of broad concentric cylindric bands extending axially across and securing the curvature of the sails across their widths along their junctures therewith, the radial interval between consecutive concentric bands near the center of wheel being less than between consecutive bands whose radial interval is more remote from the center, substantiallyv as herein set forth.

20. In a wind-wheel, the combination with the radial sails curved transversely with respect to their radial length and expanding in width with increase of radial distance and whose trailing edges make a small and practically-constant angle with the plane of the wheel throughout their radial length, and whose leading edges at different radial dis tances, make with the plane of the wheel various angles, which increase with uniform approach to center of wheel at a greater rate than the uniform rate of radial progression; of a broad cylindric hub-band securing the inner ends of the sails throughout their Width, an outer concentric cylindric band extending axially across and securing the curvature of the sails along their j unctures therewith at a less radial distance than the outer extremities of said sails, and an intermediate concentric cylindric band likewise securing the curvature of the sails across their intermemy invention I aix my signature, in pre'sv diete Widths, the radial interval between the ence of two subscribing Witnesses', this 28th hub-band and the intermediate band being,T day of December, A. D. 1897. less than the radial interval between the in- THOMAS O. PERRY.

5 tei-mediate band and the outer band, sub- Witnesses:

i stantially as herein set forth. l HENRY W. CARTER,

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as l ALBERT H. GRAVES. 

